MICHELLE WILLIAMS FOR NEW LOUIS VUITTON W BAG AD CAMPAIGN

Celebrity casting choices don’t often catch me by surprise after all, most designer deck out their future ad girls in the brand’s wares for months before their partnerships are formally announced – but here we have Michelle Williams, starring in the ad campaign for two Fall 2013 Louis Vuitton W Bags – the Louis Vuitton W Bag and the Louis Vuitton Capucines Bag.

The W Bag will likely remind many of you of the Celine Luggage Tote, with its flared gussets, double top handles and north-south central panel shape. The design chooses to over-emphasize the gussets in a couple of ways; first, by bringing them into the body of the bag itself, and also by outfitting them in contrasting Louis Vuitton monogram canvas on the ad version in particular. The W Bag is also available in versions that have tonal monogram at the gussets, but the contrast of print between the gussets and the body of the bag is ever-present.

The two preview ads we were given don’t depict the Capucines Bag, but longtime LV fans know what it’ll look like – the slim, trim shoulder bag with a long strap has an old Vuitton favorite, and it’s just the latest design to be reinvigorated as the brand looks to capitalize more heavily on its heritage to attract more high-spending customers.

The images, lensed by Peter Lindbergh, are pretty beautiful. I normally prefer actual models to do the work of models, but Williams looks gorgeous and has the kind of face that can do the subtly expressive work that big-campaign still photography requires. What do you think? This bag isn’t my favorite of the brand’s offerings, but I’m looking forward to seeing the images of the Capucines when the full campaign is released.

With Louis vuitton bags renewed interest in high-dollar, logo-wary customers has come a bevy of new products that are set to take the brand in a new, more sophisticated direction for Fall 2013. First came the wide-gusseted W Bag, which had commenter reactions seemingly split right down the middle, and now we have the Louis Vuitton Capucines Bag, which borrows the name and a detail or two from a classic Vuitton bag but expands on them to form something ladylike and luxurious.

We first spotted this Louis Vuitton Capucines Bag M48864 on the arm of Angelina Jolie a couple of weeks ago, and it’s a perfect pick for her style – neutral, elegant, understated. The bag is an important addition to louis vuitton’s lineup, because not only is it all leather , but its minimally branded. The LV that you see above is totally optional, and if the wearer prefers, it can be covered by a flap that’s tucked inside in promotional photos.

Instead of the well-known letters, it bears a more subtle star motif that plays a secondary role in the iconic Vuitton monogram print. It’s still LV, but it’s not a literal lv, which is an important distinction for many of the most high-end customers.

The bag comes in two sizes, MM and GM, with a 1.5 inch difference in width between them and a price difference of $450 . That kind of pricing puts the brand firmly in Hermes territory, a comparison that Vuitton is likely hoping to draw with its new leather offerings and their attendant prices.

Currently, the GM only comes in two colors , while the MM comes in a range of six shades, including one that’s strikingly similar to Hermes’ signature orange. The bags’ hardware varies between silver and gold, depending on the leather color.